Weather and Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island
by white-wings01
Summary: Heero and his crew of misfits and monsters return in this anticipated sequel to the original Weather and Haul Wind series of 2007. After a crippling series of events the Wings' crew finds themselves facing a lot more then strong winds and bad weather.
1. Chapter 1

**Weather & Haul Wind: ****Wind of the Mystic Island**

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

**Chapter One**

The breeze that whispered across the surface of the sea was cool and it tugged at the unruly locks of Heero Yuy were he stood on the Quarter Deck of the Wings. That same breeze twisted around the body of the ship and wound its way down the stairs to gently kiss the nape of Trowa Bartons' neck as he bent over a text. It sent the many small metallic adornments of Duo Maxwell tinkling merrily as if they were some sort of unconventional wind chime were he leaned in the crow's nest high above the deck. The waft ruffled the loose shirt of Wufei Chang as he checked the rigging and teased the delicate feathers of Quatre's wings while he perched on the Bow sprit.

The endless eyes of the Lunar Guardian stayed focused on the horizon from which the cool breeze had originated. Farther off than any mortal eye could see Quatre saw the building energy of a violent storm that was the great grandmother of the wisp that had tickled his cheeks. The milky and nearly translucent form of Ira, the Lunar Guardian who had taken the place of the Wings figure head, wrapped her misty form around her younger brother. She chirped and trilled quietly into his ear and he responded in kind with whispered chirps of his own.

Quatre had grown into a thin, well muscled creature that look similar in age to a eighteen or twenty year old human and in his true form greatly resembled a younger version of his father whose body still stood sentinel over the island city of Daphar. His platinum gold hair shimmered like the pale light of the morning and his great white wings stretched easily twice his own height when unfurled. Currently he had hidden his great dolphin-like tail and instead crouched on two long legs tanned olive by the sun though he left his arms and hands in their natural state of tiger-like appearance in order to more effectively balance himself on the tip Bow sprit.

Three years of sailing had changed the physical appearance of all of the Wings crew. All of them had aged into lean masculine figures and were handsome as well as commanding in presence. Duo, who was probably the most easily recognized member of the crew, still sported his long braid of brown hair and when paired with his startling blue/lavender eyes and eccentric way of dressing he drew no small amount of attention when they docked.

Wufei, who as a Lou Island native already had high cheekbones and other well-defined facial features, as well as ever so slightly slanted eyes, stood out now with his broad shoulders and thick black hair to match his equally dark eyes pulled into a short tail at the base of his neck. He kept his hair trimmed so that it fell at shoulders length when free of its leather bond.

Trowa let his hair grow out with every voyage and had it trimmed each time they returned to Redenge, which had become a regular stop during their various exploits within the Nation of Stars, by his sister Kathy. His green eyes still sparked at the sight of old books but he had grown even taller and now had to stoop to get though the doors of most establishments, including his own quarters on the Wing. Around his neck he wore the amulet that he had received from Eduard Blackwater on Daphar. The brilliant emerald color had not faded and the gold that held the large jewel in place was not tarnished. The pair of hands, one soft and almost human the other jagged with claws at its finger tips, still held fast and dangled from a thick iron chain.

Heero, though now a lean young man with well muscled shoulders, had not grown much in height but though he was not nearly as tall as wispy Duo or towering Trowa he had a presence that commanded the respect and adoration of a man twice his height or age. His deep blue eyes were still shadowed my messy bangs and though he had cut his hair short numerous times it always grew back quickly. He had yet to manage even a little bit of stubble on his chin but did not worry about such things especially when Quatre turned such a grave face towards him.

"Gale will be bad He-ro. Would be bes' a find a cozy cove or bay." The Lunar Guardian said as he touched down lightly next to his captain and his friend. He was still learning to speak the human language and had a terrible time pronouncing the hard "T" sound but his broken speech was easily translated.

"Allright... Ira, would you call Trowa up for me?" Heero replied to Quatre and then addressed the empty air.

"Of course..."whispered a faint voice that may have been gone unheard if one had not known what to listen for. A few moments later Trowa emerged from below deck with a map in his hands.

"How much time do we have?" the tall scholar asked as he joined his crew-mates on the Quarter Deck. Already mentally running though the Islands that were within their immediate area and compiling a list for nearest to furthest.

"No more an ree hours a mos' 'Rowa." It would have been almost comical to hear such a fine looking young man speak in such a broken and toddlerish way if it wasn't known that despite his looks Quatre was only about five years old. The other reason that Quatre was learning so slowly was...

"W'AS GOIN' ON DOWN DERR!" Came a shout from the crow's nest where Duo leaned over the side, more than half his body dangling out in to free air. Despite many attempted lessons and lectures from Wufei, who found Duo's manner of speech horrific, the retired thief had only just a touch more refinement in his sentence structure but his grammar and pronunciation had gotten worse!

Trowa had unrolled his map page and studied it a moment before replying while Heero and Quatre knew better than to respond.

"South southwest, can you see land mass?" Trowa boomed out in his rich baritone voice

Duo swung back up into the crow's nest and stood up, leaning on the railing while he spied though the lens of a looking glass that he had pulled from one of his many pouches and pockets.

"AYE!" he bellowed back in a much higher tenor. "YE BE SEEIN' TIT WICH YER EYES SOON."

"Then I suggest we make waves." Heero said and then nodded to both Trowa and Quatre who nodded back. Quatre took flight with one powerful surge from his wings and hurtled upward the give Duo the news and they two made the necessary adjustments to the upper Yard. Trowa went below to store his map safely within its locking cubby in his room and the returned to assist Wufei and Heero in the adjustments of the Booms and Jibs. With this accomplished Trowa and Wufei retreated into the hold to make sure that the cargo crates were secure below deck so that if the ride did get bumpy they wouldn't find their food stores spoiled. Heero returned to the Quarter Deck and took up the wheel to make sure they stayed on course. Duo climbed down from the crow's nest and went below to make sure all of the personal belongings of the crew were secured in their proper places. He may not have absorbed much of Wufeis literary lessons but he had learned that it was important to keep his messes small or have the wrath of an angry dragon descend on him.

Shin and Scythe, the ships two large sea-cats, appeared from where they had been hunting mice and rats in the hold to follow Quatre into Heeros quarters where they watched the young Guardian check all of the cabinets and drawers to make sure they would hold.

The Wing was nearly upon the island when the edge of the storm began making the waves rougher. They found a cove that gave them a little shelter and dropped anchor as the softer clouds at the edge of the storm began to empty their loads on the world below. Heero shook water droplets out of his hair as he descended the steps on his way to the galley using his arms to steady himself when the ship rocked back and forth as the sea tried its hardest to dislodge the vessel from its back as the storm grew worse. The rest of the crew was already waiting in the Galley when he pushed through the door.

"Thought for a min ya got awashed overboard!" Duo laughed from his customary seat on the end of the far bench. Heero ignored the comment.

"Everything is tied down good and tight, would you like some coffee?" Wufei offered from the kitchen, holding up a wooden mug, only half full, for Heeros inspection. The Captain accepted it with a nod of thanks and took a long sip of the rich dark liquid. They had picked up a crate of Coffee beans on an island called Berbeere that when ground had a very bright, sharp, taste that quickly woke the sense on mornings where one might otherwise drag and the slight berry-like aftertaste made it perfect for most other occasions as well.

Heero sat down next to Trowa, the scholar was mulling over a few faded texts and maps, and waited for Wufei to join them before he interrupted the much taller man.

"What are you looking at Trowa?" Heero asked after taking a sip of his Berbeereian coffee

It took the young man a few minutes to collect his thoughts but after he glanced at his maps and notes a few times he seemed to gain a bit more confidence and turned to his Captain.

"The island we are currently sheltered by is called Satarr, but as far as I can tell from the records it is uninhabited. There are fresh water sources on the island but the terrain, though heavily peppered with plant life, is very rocky. I don't think we'll have a hard time re-supplying of fresh fruits if we can find them but we should be careful, once the storm lets up and we can get to shore, because there is not information on local animals that I can find." He concluded by snapping his leather bound notebook shut.

The crew members then took the chance to ask a few questions: Wufei wanted to know what kinds of fruit might be available. Quatre wanted to know if the island was full of fire, I other words he wanted to know if it was volcanically active. Heero wanted to know if there were any outstanding records of people who had landed here before, which there weren't. Duo wanted to know if there was a possibly of finding anything worth scavenging and the ship cats , Shin and Scythe, were only contemplating the best places to catch any possible boarding rodents, at least to the best of the rest of the crews knowledge.

With a violent lurch that sent Heero's mug of coffee dangerously close to the edge of the far end of the table the full front of the storm hit them. The next few hours promised to be unpleasant.

The climb up from the thin beach of gravel, polished smooth by the ocean, to were the scant reports of previous investigation told of fresh water sources was not easy. The scrub brush that covered most of the slick, slate covered slope not only hid treacherous footing but also scraped at skin and tore clothing with thorns and rough bark. Duo complained the whole way to a rare clearing inhabited not by brush but by hardy grasses toward the middle of which was a natural spring. Each of the crew members, excluding Quatre who was flitting from one wind twisted tree to the next gathering what fruit he could find into a specially made pack, took turns filling large containers with water and then transporting them back down the treacherous slope in two man teams.

They loaded this water and the fruit that Quatre found into the hold and then prepared to set sail. Their destination was an island called Ocerr. Currently they were transporting a load of goods from a researcher in Redenge to a team working on a project for him on Ocerr. Not for free of course, they were being paid quite well, the Wing had to take odd jobs from time to time in order to finance the real reason they were still traveling together: The Myth Encyclopedia.

Over the last 3 years they had added to and updated eighteen of the creatures described in the original volume published by Trowas father. They had also added seven new mythical creatures, most complete with illustration and a detailed description of their typical habitat. Thought they never listed specifically were each of the creatures could be found they did list the island on which they had fist heard a myth pertaining to the creatures in an attempt to prevent anything like the events on Daphar from ever happening again.

Heero stretched his shoulders and flexed his fingers at the helm as the anchor was brought up ready to adjust the rudder if the natural flow didn't want to assist the Wing in her escape from the cove. What had not been ready for was nearly crashing into another ship just outside of the protected inlet, either that the other ship for that matter. After a good amount of hollering from crew member to crew member on both ships they narrowly avoided scraping hulls and everyone breathed a sigh of relief… until Wufei recognized the ship.

"Heero! It is Edmar!" Wufei hollered as he sprinted toward the stairs that led from the Main deck to the Quarter deck where Heero stood at the helm.

Heero wheeled the ship away from the Black Boon, the ship on which pirate Edmar Yalgave stood Captain. As they began to pull away the crew of the Black Boon recognized the Wind and shout of "load the cannons!" could be heard over the ocean waves and calling gulls. The crew of the Wing was already prepared to this scenario however and before Edmar's crew had a chance to open fire Quatre had summoned a strong up-draft from the higher sky and filled only the Wings sails, sending the much smaller, lighter ship hurtling well out of reach of the angry pirates' cannons.

One of the things that Ira had taught Quatre early on after "joining" the crew was how to summon and calm strong winds. This was one of the many weather related powers to which a Lunar Guardian could lay clam. In addition to their race naturally being able to see the flow and movement of weather patterns, or more accurately, the energy that created those weather patterns they could also, to some extent, change the weather. This is why sailors for centuries had found the Lunar Guardians to be charms of excellent fortune against bad weather. If one happened see on these noble creatures before or during a voyage then your ship would be blessed with fair sailing, or at least that was the myth. The Wing had its own personal Guardian and his skills, ever improving, had now enabled them to escape the clutches of Edmar for the fifth time.

The good news and bad news of this situation was that yes, they had gotten away from Edmar yet again, but now they were well and off course. It would take some time to get back to their original route. Using so much power so fast also had a tendency to tire Quatre.

Once the wind had subsided Trowa escorted Quatre below deck to put the young thing to bed. The blond teetered slightly with each step as he leaned heavily on the scholars shoulder.

'In about five more cycles he will be able to do that without batting an eye.' Whispered Ira's translucent form where she had appeared at Heero's shoulder.

"That's a fine thing but I wish I felt better about how much it affects him now." Heero sighed as he locked down the rudder.

"E 'ill jus tell ye he's fine if yer ta ask im." Duo said as he landed on the balls of his feet on the railing the deck.

"Aye, he is such a sweet spirit." Wufei added from the stair.

They all shook their heads.

"I could do with some coffee." Wufei muttered and began to retreat down the stairs toward the set that lead below deck.

"Me too!" Duo piped in, hopping down the stairs in set of two or three after the dragon-clansmen

"You do not require any more energy that you already possess, Maxwell." Wufei replied with a jab of his finger.

"OI! Hows 'at fer fair, eh!" Duo jabbed back... they argued that way until they were below deck and out of earshot.

Heero check their course once more, sighed again, and then followed. They day had started off so promising and now they were once again set back by Edmars grudge. Feeling confident with the current way that the ship was drifting he left the helm to join those in the Galley for a cup of coffee and a bit of food. Two hours later he would regret that decision for his break had allowed the Wing to drift into the clutches of a storm more violent than the one they had taken shelter from the night before.

With so little warning and their only chance of relief abed Heero, Duo, Wufei, and Trowa all had to do the best they could to keep the ship from being torn apart by the wind and waves or being washed overboard. They battled with the sea until their last ounce of collective strength gave out and then scuffled some more. Duo was thrown rather harshly into the railing and cracked at least two of his ribs while Wufei narrowly avoided being crushed by a loose cargo box in the hold when he went blow to check on their stuffs.

After seven grueling hours the Wing was thrown into the calmest waters Heero had ever seen. After a breath of relief he realized that they had not only drifted into the path of a storm but they had drifted into the path of a hurricane and now they panted warily in the eye of it while a huge mountain island loomed over them.

_**::Note from the Author::**_

"_Thank you every one who was so patient in waiting for the next installment of Weather and Haul Wind. It's just starting but I hope you will all enjoy this new adventure the way you enjoyed the first one. As an added bonus for those of you who have read Weather and Haul Wind and Lonely Flame and the end of each chapter I am going to be putting an interesting fact that pertains to one of the two previous stories! "_

**:: Interesting Fact ::**

**At the end of 'Chapter 4' of the original Weather and Haul Wind Heero asks Wufei where he burned the dress that Edmar had forced Duo to wear. Some of you may have guess that it was on Edmars' ship! And that some of you would be right. To be precise, he lit it ablaze in Edmars' sleeping quarters! **

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	2. Chapter 2

Weather & Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

CHAPTER 2

Heero leaned on the railing of the Wings deck, looking out over the sea from where they had run her aground in a shallow cove. The storm that had driven them to take refuge still raged about two leagues out from the mysterious islands shoreline and it stayed there. For two days they had been waiting for the storm to shift and brake over the island but it had yet to move even a fingers width closer or further from where it had been when they had come through initially. It was a situation that was both irritating and unfortunate for Heero and his crew. Not only would braving the storms fury a second time be impossible due to damage the Wing had taken on in its first encounter with the super storm but the proximity of this obviously unnatural occurrence had caused poor Quatre to be rather violently ill. The young lunar guardians ghostly sister had also been unable to tell them what was going on.

Heero shifted his weight from foot to foot. Other than that simple movement his expression was placid as he tallied up his options. Firstly there was the issue of where they were: according to Trowas star maps they were actually moving west at about fourty leagues per day but that couldn't be right for that would mean that the island itself was moving and islands didn't move, at least not that he was aware of. Then again he had encountered stranger things in his travels since leaving Lunar Port.

Secondly, if they were going to be trapped on what appeared to be a deserted island, they were going to need to find, at the very least, a source of fresh water. Wufei was already preparing packs for them to use on a preliminary scouting so the search itself was not the issue. The problems began if they discovered that there was no fresh water, what would they do then?

The third and last matter at hand was what to do about Quatres sickness. He wasn't human but despite that fact Duo, Trowa, himself, and Wufei had tried every medicine and remedy they could think of. Nothing yet had helped so the Lunar Guardian stayed weak with a fever and, much to Wufeis dismay, vomited up everything he ate or drank. It was a grim prospect for them as the only foreseeable cure was to leave the island. A solution that, at the moment, was impossible.

Heero sighed with a slight forward tilt of his head and turned to retreat below deck to see how preparations were coming.

Duo sat at the one long table in the galley while he twiddled with one of the steal spoons they had acquired on Xancala. He had attempted to help Wufei with packing their supplies but had been chased off by the fiery tempered dragon clansman. Each of the crew members was dealing with the prospect of being stranded on the strange island differently. Wufei was throwing himself at any project he could find and the gods help anyone who might get in the way or snag a spare bisquit for a snack.

Heero looked on from the doorway for a moment to assess the situation and then entered. He was followed shortly after by Trowa who was returning from his cabin with a leather satchel full of map-making supplies. They were all here now, with the exception of Quatre who was hopefully sleeping peacefully in his bed, and with Wufei almost done packing it was time to start the planning stage.

Shin and Scythe jumped up onto the table from wherever they'd been napping and sat in a stately manner at the head of the table while Heero offered the first question:

"I think it would be best for us to stick as close as possible to eachother but if you would prefer to split up..." he left the sentence unfinished as he surveyed his cew. Duo put it the best when he spoke up.

"Oo ev'a 'ought slitin up 's a 'ood ideers an idget ya? Got no ideer 'oos out der er wa' so is bes' bet ter stay ta-gether." Duo said crossing his arms and nodding his head matter-of-factly, spoon still gripped in his left hand. Wufei glared at the ex-pickpocket from under scrunched eyebrows while looking slightly miffed but everyone understood what Duo had said for the most part and it seemed they all agreed.

"All right, we stick together then. Any suggestion as to what direction Trowa?"

The quiet scholar thought for a moment.

"I can't tell much about the island from here but it seems that the north side of the island is a bit more heavily vegetated so it would be the more likely area." The rest of the crew nodded in agreement, Trowa was usually right about such things which is why they depended so much on his intuition.

"The north slope it is then. I have packed an empty water-skin into each pack. If we do find water we will be able to bring about twenty-five gallons back with us, give or take."said Wufei as he stood and began to pass out the newly filled supply packs to the other crew members. They each took there respective loads and Duo added in his own creative commentary to the situation once he had the leather straps of his pack in his own hands.

"Ow we gunna scoot 'rom the hibi-gibis 'ou der wil' all t'is eh?" He said while letting the bag drag his arm to the floor dramatically.

"The same way in which the rest of us do you lazy magpie." Wufei retorted

"Hush you two, let's get going." Heero said as he shouldered his own pack. He lead the way out onto the deck and just as Duo had volunteered to be the first down the rope ladder a weak "mew" caused them all to turn.

Quatre leaned heavily on the railing at the top of the stairs. He wore a thick, brightly colored, woollen pancho over his normal attire of loose legged breaches and backless tunic. His normally bright and reflective blue eyes were slightly fogged by the fever.

"I come." He said as he pushed himself off the rail into a slow walk towards the group.

"Absolutely not!" Heero said in a firm voice

"I come." Quatre said again trying to mimic Heeros firm tone.

"Yer to sick ta be trapsin' round. Ye gots ter sleep!" Duo said

"That is correct. You have been unable to eat anthing as of late. You obviously have no energy. Go back and sleep." Wufei said, trying to he as reasonable as he could since giving the Lunar Guardian a straight "No." Had not worked, even though it was Heero whom said it!

Trowa stepped forward to help Quatre back to his cabin but as he got close Quatre snapped his wings out to their full length an shouted:

"No!" Then with a powerful pump of his wings he sprung into the air and over the side of the ship to the damp sandy beach below were he made a bit of a shakie landing and the folded his wings beneath the pancho as he turned to look up at his friends. "I go wi'h."

"Quatre..." Heero sighed and then shook his head, if the Guardian wanted to come that baddly they weren't going to be able to stop him. "Fine, lets get the rest of us down there before he falls over."

Heero gave Duo a nudge and the nimble young man lept overboard and swung down to the sand without ever placing a foot on a single rung of the ladder. Heero tapped Trowas arm in a silent request that the scholar stick close to the weak Guardian as Wufei accosted Duo for his recklessness from were he stood on the top rung of the rope ladder. Trowa nodded in silent agreement and moved to take his turn descending as Shin amd Scythe latched onto Heeros' pack and leaned over his shoulder to peer down towards the ground. Evidently they decided that the jump was to much even for such magnificent cats as they were and instead hunkerd down on the blue eyed Captains shoulders instead. After mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "Scaredy cats." Heero too took his turn to decend the rope ladder to the shore.

After a good two hour hike in which they had encountered a marvelous species of bird with a thick broad beak and brightly colored iridecent feathers that none of them had ever encounter before and some kind of small, golden maned monkey they arived at the entrance to a cave from the mouth of which the could here the sounds of water. The hike had acctually appeared to have given Quatre some of his normal energy back but they decided to rest at the mouth of the cave anyway. Heero and Trowa took turns sketching the bird and monkey they had seen earlier while Wufei inspected the area surrounding the cave mouth. Quatre rested against the wall in a patch of sunlight and Duo busyed himself by teaching the two feline members of there crew how to catch the tiny speckles of light reflecting off his many dangling charms on the shadowed cave wall without venturing too far in. He was not really in the mood to be the first one into a mysterious, potentially water filled, cave on a doubly mysterious unmarked island that could only be found in the middle of a hurricane.

Heero handed he sketchbook back to Trowa to store back in his leather satchel and glanced at the sky, the suns position ment Noon was still a small ways off. They needed to get back to there scouting if they wanted to get anything productive done before lunch besides sketching strange beasties. He rocked to his feet, stood and stretched before pulling a thin, long stip of oiled fabric from its waxpaper wrapping and winding it around the tip of a reletivly straight fallen branch. He used a flint stone from his pocket to light it as his shipmates followed his example, except for Quatre who could see just as well or better in the dark as the two cats, and made their own torches.

He led the searchers into the cave and they carefully fanned out with about half an arms leangth between them. The cave only seemed to get wider as they ventured further in and soon they could hear the sounds of the water more clearly. It wasn't running water but thousands of tiny droplets falling from stalagtites on the ceiling to an impossibly blue pool below. The echoes of the water droplets striking the surface of the pool gave the impression of a very oddly musical waterfall.

Trowa nelt beside the pool and tested the water with a small kit of specific designed strips off paper. Each one was covered in a specific chemical compound that would change colors depending on the amount of chemicals or heavy mineral deposits found in the water that it came in contact with. He tested, shook his head and tested again. With a somewhat bewildered look he turned to the rest of the crew.

"This is the cleanest water I've ever seen. Its even more pure than the water thats been purified in a laboratory."

"Ows that? 'Ts whi'll wa'ta ain't it?" Duo asked

"As far as i can tell, yes. There must be just the right mix of sediment in the makeup of this island for the water to be this good. I wish I knew what!"

Despite the origin of the waters purity being in question the water was safe so the crew pulled out their water-bags and one by one began to fill them. Wufei was almost done filling his own bag when Quatre tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you see?" He asked pointing off into the gloom beyond the pool of water and their reflecting torchlight.

Wufei squinted against the darkness, for his eyesight would never be as good as a Lunar Guardians' and found that indeed he could make out a faint glow in what appeared to be a continuation of the cave that they had followed in. While Wufei pondered the lights origin Trowas, Shin, and Scythe all jerked their heads up and starred into the same direction.

"Do you hear that?" Heero asked, for he too had heard what sounded like a singing voice echo down the passage way.

"What what?" Duo chirped looking back and forth in the semi-darkness from one set of crewmates to the next. "Ye ere som-it?"

"No I do not. I do see something though." Wufei replied

"Ood I go 'n chec' er out?" The watchman offered

"Don't anyone go off alone." Heero said softly "If anyone goes then we all go."

"Safe-ee in large group!" Quatre agreed

They did eventually decided that since there was a good chance that they would be spending a great deal of time in this island that it would be in the whole crews best interests to know as much as they could. So after completing the initial task of filling water-bags the crew stored the bags in the center of the tunnel that would lead them out to the north side of the island and set off.

They skirted around the edge of the water pool as much as they could in attempt to preserve the purest water source known to man and set off down a tunnel that was half as wide as the one they had enterd through. Heero lead and was closely followed by Duo and the two ship-cats. Quatre leand on Trowa just behind the watchman and Wufei brought up the rear. They walked for what seamed like days but in truth was probably no more than an hour or two in the torchlight-eating darkness that surrounded them. Eventually the light that Quatre and Wufei had seen became more prominent and the came out into a cavern that was so big that not only could they not see the other side but they couldn't make out the extremely high ceiling either.

The floor of the great cavern was made up of large sections of perfectly even rolling hills of what appeared to be polished white marble that spiral inwards towards the center of the room and sunk gradually into a lake of the same impossibility blue water with which they had filled there packs. The white stone glowed with a faint blue-white light that was enough to illuminate the cave so that the torches were no longer necessary. Each section of the near perfectly circular caven floor was about 12 feet wide, each ring gentility sloping into the next like the bottom of a giant woven basket.

"Wow." Said Duo in the single most underwhelming commentary statement he had ever spoken but he at least was able to say something; the rest of the crew was speechless.

After a few moments of awe inspired petrification Heero stepped down from the rough rocky ledge on which they stood at the mouth of the entrance tunnel onto the rolling white marble floor. It was solid and appeared safe so the rest of the crew joined him one by one. They set out toward the lake in the center, walking cautiously as each survived the room. They spread out to about and arms length apart and when they were nearly halfway to the water the world began to rumble below them.

::Note from the Author::

"Sorry that it took so long to get you this second chapter but my computer crashed and i have been reduced to writing on my phone ... tis a sad thing really. Also i have decided that i will not post new chapters of this story, even if they are ready unless i get a minimum of 4 reviews per chapter. Even if they ar just short 'Awesome, waiting for the next Chap.' Reviews. Sorry for the inconvenience!" -love, WW

:: Interesting Fact ::

After Ferin S. Max left a pregnant Julie Wells to escape the Kights of Fire he ended up on Lunar Port where he eventual died, burning down more that half the city with him. He dies fighting to rescue a man he became fast friends with from the Kights of Fires' inquisition. Both Ferin and his friend perished in the blaze along with the Kights of Fire (who had come to the island looking for Witches of Sail) and his friends' wife, leaving a young son behind and orphaned in the care of a close friend named Heero Yuy.

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	3. Chapter 3

Weather & Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

CHAPTER 3

Heero froze in a panic for a moment before the adrenaline kicked in and his mind started to race. It felt as if the world slowed down and he quickly glanced at his companions, each of their faces a mask of some form of shock or fear. Quatre and Duo openly displayed their horror with faces contorted in a panic state, though the tightness around the corners of Duos' eyes was more likely due to the pain of two sets of claws digging into the flesh of his shoulder. Shin and Scythe were completely taken by surprise. In true cat fashion the twin mousers latched on to their perch with a grip it would take a god to dislodge, the hair on their backs and tails sticking out straight as if they'd been struck by lightning.

Wufei was wide-eyed and open mouthed in surprise, the reality of a possible cave collapse just starting to dawn in his expression. Trowas' face, or what you could see of it through the long heavy bangs he usually kept swept to one side, was one of pensive suspicion. He was looking at Heero for direction, his own calculating mind having already reached a very logical conclusion, one that Heero shared.

"RUN!" Heero yelled over the rumble of the earth

Wrapping his fingers around Quatres wrist Heero and the rest of his crew bolted for the entrance to the cave. Their feet pounded on the smooth rolling hills of white marble that made up the caves floor. None of his crew had needed a second thought and they ran with as much speed as each of them was capable; Duo and Trowa quickly out distanced the others with their long legs eating up the ground beneath them.

Behind them light from the glowing lake became brighter and ahead of them Heero could now see their shadows dancing on the wall. The spiraling marble floor began to break apart reveling more shining blue water where it was separating and sinking out from underneath them. As Heero took a leaping step forward the floor cracked open under the foot on which all his weight was centered. He felt himself slip off into the water so as he began to pitch forward he threw his weight into his shoulder sending Quatre into a rough take-off much the same way a falconer would send his bird skyward. His chin made contact with the floor and stunned, with stars dancing in front of his eyes, he involuntarily slid backward into the water.

..:+:..

Duo and Trowa spun around when the rumble of the collapse was swallowed all at once by a echoing screech from Quatre. Duo watch as an airborne Lunar Guardian suddenly dived toward a dark shadow that was quickly vanishing beneath the surface of luminescent water. He realized with horror that Heero had vanished. The trembling of the cave stopped and suddenly the world was silent again except for the strangled sobs of Quatre where he knelt at the water's edge clawing at the surface of the lake as though he had forgotten how to swim.

His mind was blank as he started back toward the center of cave but Duo had never been one to stay quiet for long. He let out a yell as he broke into a run; striping out of his vest and shirt as he neared the now much larger glowing lake. He wasn't the strongest swimmer among them but he'd be damned if his Captain was going too drowned because he didn't try. The two black cats dislodged themselves from his shoulders as he picked up speed, preparing to dive in. It was then that Wufei tackled him to the ground, just a few feet away from Quatre, and they rolled with the force of the hit.

"Ye sorry son of a dike! 'Ut da 'ell ya doin' eh? Le go ah me, leg O!" Duo yelled, swiping at Wufei with clenched fists.

"Stop. Maxwell stop!" Wufei gritted through clenched teeth while he struggled to pin his mates' wrists.

"Look there!" He demanded with a nod of his head, indicating Quatre and Trowa who nelt beside the sobbing Guardian.

Quatre was pounding the surface of the water as if it were glass, blood oozing down his chin from his broken nose. Duo stopped struggling with Wufei and the Dragon Clansman let go and rolled off of him. Sitting up and then crawling towards the water he reached out an felt that the surface now had the same cold feel as the white marble on which he knelt.

"At idunt possible 's it?" He threw a confused look over his shoulder at Wufei and then at Trowa who was collecting Quatre up in a firm grasp before the young Guardian could do himself further damage. Neither of the two most learned men of their crew had an answer for him. Duo felt helplessness sink in and with one final act of defiance toward the awful cold feeling weighting down his gut he swung his fist high and slammed them down with as much force as he could muster onto the glassy glowing lake.

"No!" He cried, crumpling down to rest his forehead in his arms. The force of his fists hitting the surface caused his knuckles to bleed here and there. As if all this wasn't enough a geyser of water started to bubble up from the center of the lake and as the crew recoiled back from the shore a face appeared within the water. The visage of a snake leered out at the before surging up from the water. It arched its body high above them its head glaring down upon them with great blue eyes the size of a man's head.

"Oh gods..." Wufei swore behind him

"That... 's a big snake..." Duo said with eyes wide in surprise

He tried to step back, to turn and run. A snake that size could swallow him whole and where as he had no fear of serpentine creatures normally he was rather uncomfortable to discover that he could not move. The brilliant blue eyes of the giant beast held him captive in his own body.

"Foolish little ones; you take from me things most precious only to return to the scene of the crime! You have become far to over confident, perhaps I should just wipe out your race and be done with you! Return to me what you have stolen!" thundered and angry feminine voice

The accusation rattled the inside of Duo's head. She spoke with her mind, as a snakes jaw was not made to form complex syllables, and her rage only made the words hurt worse as they pounded his brain. He however was now just as angry as the snake, no one called Duo Maxwell a thief unless he had actually stolen something!

"Eh now!' Duo exclaimed. The filter between his mouth and his mind that should have told him that talking back to a big angry snake was not the best of decisions was obviously malfunctioning. 'I ain't ner' stol' nutin' uh yers! I'd 'member 'at, I would!"

With a loud hiss the snake jerked her head in a quick snapping motion; suddenly her huge mouth was only a few feet from the snarky watchman's face. Her eyes flashed with annoyance and her large forked tongue flicked in and out as she took stalk of her prey. She was interrupted by a shrill screeching bark from Quatre which sent a chill down Duos back. The Lunar Guardian was wiggling his way out of the paralyzed arms of Trowa. He was plainly not affected by the beast powerful stare in the same way as the others were. Quatre hissed and chirped something in his own native language at the giant sea snake with a venomous tone Duo had never heard him use before.

The snake tuned to look at Quatre who was in his full natural state: tail, wings, and all. She turned back to Duo and then to Wufei and then back to Quatre. She pulled back from them and her eyes became a softer hue of blue. When she spoke again it was with the tone of one close to tears.

"I have made a grave mistake moon-child, you are correct."

Duo felt his body relax; Trowa and Wufei too breathed heavy sighs of relief when they too could suddenly move under their own power again.

"Yer darn tootin!" Duo huffed, taking the long awaited step back from the lakes edge

"Hush witch-boy, I can still snap off your head if I so wished." The snake snapped

Duo jerked back another step before regaining his composure. This snake was one bossy lady; he was sure now that he didn't much like her. Trowa stood up and gently lead Quatre over to where Duo and Wufei stood about 4 yards away. The little Guardians shoulders were shaking, still in an obviously frantic state of mind. He was mumbling to himself and Trowa looked to Duo and Wufei in with concern set on his face. Heero had been the expert in dealing with Quatre, though the Lunar Guardian had taken and extra liking to Trowa as some point, it was no replacement for Heeros near fatherly hand with the young creature.

The snake was silent for a long while and it she had not been such a dominating figure in the room they might have forgotten she was there but all the same when deemed that the crew of the Wing had been given plenty of time to recuperate she spoke to them again. Her voice was not as loud now nor was it as painful to hear echoing in-between ones ears.

"You are a strange assortment of creatures.' She said 'How is it that this came to be?"

Quatre made a "whurrr-ing" sound but didn't seem inclined to say any more to the snake for now so Wufei took over.

"We have been sailing together for many a year. We met due to a series of well timed incidents and it has been the five of us ever since." The Dragon Clansman said realizing that there were only four of them now after he had finished. The snake seemed to have missed his mistake.

"Strange to find a sane Omoibuki; strange to see a male Lunar Guardian; stranger still to meet a mage-blood or a island witch and cats... very well it is decided. You shall go in search of my stolen gems."

"What?" Wufei sputtered

"Oi! Who said ye 'ould sen' us abou' wit out so much as a how ta do?" Duo shot back

Trowa glared and Quatre hissed. None of the crew was at all pleased by her sudden decision. She then suggested she just eat them all right then and there and it halted most of the protest. Duo still grumbled under his breath, as was his right! while Quatre started chirping at her again though not with as much ire as before. She seemed to understand him and nodded her great head, and action with cause the glowing clear water to ripple. She hissed in a low tone and from somewhere behind them slithered a much smaller snake than she. To say it was small would not have been correct, it was just smaller. The new snake was the same white marble color as the great giant that towered above them but instead of being impossibly huge it was "only" about twelve feet in length. It also had two heads both with matching sets of bright blue eyes. It rose up, made eye contact and then disappeared into the water.

"Of this journey you have no choice, I have spoken and so it shall be for I am she that is the waters of the world and I am she that gives life to the desolate. I am called by many names but you may call me... Majka." She paused for a moment for what seemed dramatic effect. "I shall return to you what I have taken and in return you shall retrieve what was taken from me."

From the water emerged a tall man with blond hair that fell, dripping, down past the backs of his knees. His eyes were a brilliant blue though they were each of a different hue, one the color of cerulean water, the other a bright sky. Against his chest and in his arms he held the motionless form of their Captain. Heero hung limply off the ground, his eyes closed and his hair and cloths water-logged. When the naked blond set him gently on the cold marble floor of the cavern he began to cough and sputter as water was ejected from his lungs. Wufei stripped off his shirt and rolled it into a makeshift pillow to cushion Heeros' head and the Dragon Clansman knelt near his shoulder while Quatre fell in at his hip, a look of relief clear across his face. Shin and Scythe appeared from whatever shadow they had taken refuge in and sat opposite Wufei next to Duo's feet.

"So that you may know your targets I send with you my sons Milliardo and Zechs, may they be of aid to you on your quest. There are six gems that you will seek one each of a different color: Scarlet, Indigo, Navy, Jade, Gold and Ginger. When you find each of these and return them to me I shall reward each of you most handsomely."

Heero was blinking himself into wakefulness now so Wufei and Quatre concentrated getting him up while Trowa and Duo moved to collect their things.

Majka looked down on them, taking their lack of seemingly endless protest to be an affirmative. When she viewed them all on their feet (more or less) she bid then farewell.

"Go now, return to your ship and rest, it will be ready to sail by the dawn of the morrow.' And then she turned to the naked blond man and added 'Do not hesitated, my sons, to aid them. For the sooner they return so do you."

…:+:…

::Note from the Author::

"Sorry about the wait! Life did what it does best and got in the way of my writing for a while. My computer is fixed now! Hurray! Show the LOVE AND REVIEW! -love, WW

:: Interesting Fact ::

Trowa first met the man he calls his father while the man was on an exhibition to document birds native to a secluded island. At the time he looked anything but human of course and he was half crazy with pain but Professor Barton somehow managed to befriend the Omoibuki and it was then that the professor became obsessed with mythical creatures and began to write the encyclopedia that Heero is so fond of. It wasn't until many years later that Professor Barton and "Trowa" were reunited and the Omoibuki took a human form for the first time.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Weather & Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island**

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

**Chapter Four**

* * *

><p>"So let me get this strait...' Heero said, with his head in his hand as he sat on the bench of the galleys single long table. 'There are six gems that were stolen and we have to go and find them for a giant snake that controls all the water in the world with no clues about where to start looking or what they look like other than their color."<p>

Once they had returned to the ship he had changed into so dryer cloths he had asked his crewmates to bring him back up to speed on the situation. For the most part he understood the situation but he wasn't sure how to accomplish the task they'd been set.

"Seems like something we'd get ourselves into doesn't it." Heero sighed.

"Ya 'now ats wha' I 'ough too!" Duo snickered; he'd regained his good humor after leaving Majka's cave.

Trowa walked in through the door at that moment. He made eye contact with Heero and nodded before entering and coming to join the rest of the crew.

"How's Quatre?" Wufei asked from where he stood in the kitchen sipping on a cup of coffee

"He's sleeping now, the sooner we get off this island the better I think. He spent a lot of energy he didn't have during that incident."

"Aye, 'oor lil guy." Duo shook his head

"For now let's all get some rest. If Majka spoke true we should be able to leave in the morning. We'll head for Ocerr as we'd originally planned and drop off the supplies to the research team. It will at least give us a direction to start in." Heero stood and the others nodded and began to disperse but Heero himself wasn't going to retire just yet. "Ira.' He whispered 'Where is the snake?"

He hadn't yet figured out whether the son who had returned to the ship with them was Milliardo or Zechs so until he did he just call him by what he really was, a giant 12 foot sea serpent. Ira had not been pleased by the state in which her younger brother had returned and she had made a point of expressing her dislike for this new crew member. Regardless of her feelings on the mater she was still endlessly helpful. The reply to his whisper came as if spoken right into his ear; the snake was on deck and had not moved for some time. He whispered a thank you and headed toward the stair.

* * *

><p>Heero stood near the mast watching the tall, long-haired, blond man for a while. He was nearly a head taller than even Trowa and his hair hung down to his hips similar to Duo's when unbraided. The platinum blond locks had a sheen to them that made it appear as if they were wet, even though they certainly very dry. He was still naked as a jay bird and Heero knew that he didn't have any clothing to offer the man that would come close to fitting. They would have to figure something out eventually, no matter how out of the way Ocerr was its inhabitants where still bound to be adverse to a man walking around in all his own glory; even if that man was really a snake to begin with.<p>

He sighed quietly as he finally moved forward to stand next to Majka's son at the Bow. The snake stood completely still until Heero was abreast of him and then turned his head slowly to lock the much smaller sailor in his line of sight. His two blue eyes, each of a different hue, narrowed slightly in recognition. He turned away again and set his unblinking stare back on the mountain that rose up above them.

"Do you speak common-tongue?" Heero asked plainly as he too turned to fix his sites on the mountain

"Yes, we speak." was the answer

"May I ask, are you Milliardo or Zechs?"

"We are."

Heero sighed; he should have known better then to get a straight answer from a snake. He'd have to be careful with how he worded his questions from now on.

"Which one are you? I was told Majka was sending both."

The tall blond turned and Heero turned to meet his gaze again. The snake raised his right hand and placed a long elegant finger beneath the cerulean eye on the right side of his face.

"Eye am Zechs." He said before lowering his right hand and then raising his left hand and resting another finger beneath the sky blue eye on the left side of his face. "And eye am Milliardo. We are both here, boy, that our mother wishes it though I would much prefer to stay and I am quite happy to go."

Heero blinked in confusion. It was not worth questioning a magical creature who claimed he was two. He also realized that talking to Milliardo and Zechs was going to be much more difficult than he had originally anticipated.

"How would you have me address you while you share the same body?" He asked, hoping for some clarification.

"We are always of one body." They replied

"Uh... No, I meant is there a name that I can refer to you both by at once?"

The odd eyed man looked thoughtful for a moment and then angry but before he could spit venomous words his expression changed yet again to one of dawning understanding.

"We took this foreign form to more easily blend in with your people. I think it best we create a new name for this body, I agree but the boy must call us by our proper names when we are in our own body."

The man looked at Heero as if expecting an answer and Heero quickly realized that they were asking him to agree to their terms. He nodded slowly.

"Well then! You shall call us by one name while we are in this form. We are to be known as Tallgeese."

* * *

><p>The next morning Duo rose after Wufei as usual and strode in his early morning zombie-like state up the stairs to the deck to begin replacing what he could of the damaged rigging. He emerged to find the deck polished and shimmering from aft to stern. The sails were a puffy and beautiful white again and the whole ship it tip top condition as if it had never weathered the violent storm that had brought them here.<p>

There were piles of fresh fruit and in two huge turtle shells full of water in which swam fish. He took one of the nectarines from a pile and bit into it letting the juice drip down his chin as he look in the sight. Slowly turning so he could gaze all about himself in the early morning light he saw the horizon for the first time in days and he promptly dropped his nectarine on the fleshly polished wood and bolted for Heeros quarters.

He didn't even bother to nock; Heero was likely already away since it seemed the man rarely ever slept. He threw his shoulder into the door and burst in with a bang.

"Hey Ro! Da ship, shes a been all fixed up, she 'as!"

Heero had plainly been in the process of slipping on a fresh shirt before the intrusion. He paused a moment and glanced at Duo before slipping the shirt over his head and shoulders. He was grinning dimly as Heero rarely smiled with as big a grin as Duo did. The grin was enough to tell Duo that Heero was fully aware of the state of his ship. Duo beamed like a child on All Saints Day morn and thundered off toward the Galley. He shouted loudly as he ran down the corridor past the crew quarters rousing Trowa and Quatre. As he skid to a halt just inside the Galley he found a bewildered Wufei examining his like new pots and pans. The snake man stood leaning against one wall and Duo made a loud "whoop"-ing sound and trotted up to him with purpose.

"Ey there shinny 'un, yer ma may 'e a monster o' a snake 'ut shes alight 'n me 'ook!" He clapped Milliardo and Zechs on the shoulder and skipped off whistling before the snakes had a chance to react.

* * *

><p>They sailed out on a tide that seemed made for that purpose and so it seemed that was the case. With a healthy wind in their sails and Quatre feeling much improved they made it to Ocerr in near record time. The researchers weren't even aware that their supplies delivery had been delayed. Trowa had found a large piece of silk cloth in the storage hold, probably the remnants of something that Duo had bough since it was rather brightly colored and if he remembered correctly Duo had planned to make something of it but had been distracted, left it, and then forgot it.<p>

Heero was a fair hand with a needle and so was Wufei, between the two of them they'd made something suitable for Tallgeese to wear. It was similar to something seen on a Long island native. They had made him a long tailed shirt and had taken the leg out and added fabric to a pair of loose cut britches. He looked quite striking in it and looked every bit a member of the small rag-tag crew of the Wing. He stood on the deck while the others unloaded the cargo. Shin and Scythe sat upright on either side of him and the three of them looked down on the work like smug overlords.

When the unloading was done and Trowa came back aboard to check that it had all been accounted for he was stopped short by Tallgeese who stood with that unsettling, unblinking stare.

"We have kept a count of cargo: eighteen barrels of liquid, twelve barrels of fruit and pickled things, fourteen crates of pressed wood, four crates of leather, and two crates of linen. Seven crates of metal and seven more of glass as well as the ten crates of mixed assortment and four leather holds of smaller pressed papers that smell of inks. We have a count. Is there more I should have counted that is not present?"

Trowa looked over his list, ran the numbers in his head. It was all accounted for and it seemed that the odd-eyed man was doing more than looming after all.

"No, thank you for keeping count it makes things much easier for us. Since that order of business has been squared away it seems we have a bit of extra time. Would you like to come ashore and stretch your... legs?"

"I will come ashore when I feel the need and I am in much wanting to see this island now as I have not been in some time." A sour expression crossed the mans' face and then returned to the rather stoic look he usually wore and strode off the ship. Duo cart wheeled up the plank past him as he left and came upright abreast of Trowa.

"Odd 'un that!" Duo laughed

"Not any stranger than you or I, where is Heero?

"He was talking to the head researcher last I saw him." said Wufei as he came back aboard, he cracked his back and stretched his arms.

* * *

><p>Heero had finished his business with the head researcher moments ago and stood at the edge of the encampment near the beach. There were only two permanent buildings on the island: one for storing supplies and the other for storing research. Neither interested him since these men were researching the flora of this island for potential uses and what variations there were from other similar plants on nearby inhabited islands. What did interest him was the conversation he was eavesdropping on. Just on the other side of one of many tents set up in the area two men were eating fruit they no longer needed to use for research.<p>

Several nights ago a shooting star had fallen. Its path had been close enough to them that they had seen its brilliant trail even in the bright sunlight of mid-day. It wasn't unusual for stars to fall every once in a while but according to the almanac there weren't any annual star showers that were close to occurring so it must have been a "wild star."

Heero made mental notes of where and in what direction this "wild star" had impacted. Since he had very few clues as to what he should be looking for that it was more than likely a good idea to start with falling stars. He headed back toward the Wings, spotting Trowas tall figure gliding toward him with that uncanny grace of his. A man his size should not have been able to move like that but then again, Trowa wasn't really a man.

"Heero, do you have the invoice?"

"hn." He replied as he handed the short stack of papers to Trowa. They shared a silent conversation as it seemed only they two could and when their separate ways. Heero was halfway up the gangplank when a commotion started on the other side of the camp. Duo hopped from the deck onto the railing and leaned out with a hand over his brows, squinting in the direction of the noise. The two ship cats sat up on their haunches and look off in the same way.

" 'Ts da Snake, Ro. Sum'uts up..." Heero sighed and turned around, stalked down the gangplank with Duo in toe and headed to where their newest crewmember was. Trowa arrived on the scene about the same time as Heero and Duo and the three of them could only look on in amused horror.

A rather distressed group of researchers were catching and worriedly inspecting the contents of specimen jars that Tallgeese was picking up and throwing over his shoulder with disgust after a quick assessment of the bottles contents. One researcher was trying and failing miserably to request the tall blond man to stop. Mostly because he would stop mid-word and shriek every time Tallgeese tossed a jar. Eventually one of the researchers noticed Heero pleading asked for assistance. Heero stepped in while Duo stifled a rather loud giggle.

"Tallgeese, what are you doing?"

"We are uncertain, I do now understand why one would bottle these things and I do not like to see these things bottled."

"They are specimen jars, they save them to keep them for later."

"Why would they save them for later, are they going to eat them? What idiot eats gragzelgi? It is poisonous! Perhaps for medicinal purposes? Then why label it a herb?"

The two halves began to argue with each other; occasionally snatching a bottle from a table or a researcher who was replacing the bottle back where it had been to use it as an example to its other half. At least they had stopped throwing the bottles. The researchers looked even more puzzled.

"E's a tad lon-lay." Duo explained as he skipped forward and gently started to guide the tall blond out of the reach of the precious jars. He winked at Trowa and Heero. Trowa stepped forward to explain further.

"We found him stranded on an uncharted island on our way here. It appears he was trapped there for some time."

Tallgeese stopped in its self argument and looked offended as Duo continued to lead him away.

"We were not stranded! I could leave Mothers' island whenever I wished and I could but didn't want to." Duo tut-tuted and made a sympathetic expression then managed to pull the now struggling Tallgeese back toward the ship leaving Trowa and Heero to finish up.

"I apologize, I did not think letting him ashore would be a problem. Has he damaged anything?" Heero asked

"No, oh no of course not! Poor thing, he must have been alone for a very long time." Heero only nodded and when it appeared that their story had been taken for truth and the researchers worry was quelled he and Trowa retreated back to the ship where they found Duo and Tallgeese sitting below deck in the Galley.

"You humans have a strange process of thinking, putting things in jars like that."

"T's most-lay fer sciency types that. Crazy buggers da lot of 'um." Duo had turned down his garish accent a tad to be more easily understood which only made Wufei glare daggers at him from the kitchen.

"Why did you throw the researchers jars?" Heero asked as he came further into the Galley

Tallgeese turned and looked at Heero from where he sat on the bench near Duo. It was the first time Heero recalled seeing a expression on the mans face for more than a few seconds before it flashed to something else when the two personalities fought for control of the facial muscles. Tallgeese looked the captain up and down and then smiled ever so slightly in a mischievous or sarcastic manner.

"We wanted to hear the little man squeak."

* * *

><p>Sorry for the long wait everyone, no excuses T_T please dont hate me!<p>

**:: Interesting Fact ::**

May Lynn Armaro, Buffer and First Mate to Captain Eduard Allen Blackwater, who is first introduced in Weather & Haul Winds 7th Chapter is a Dragon Princess. This doesn't mean that she is royalty but instead one of the last remaining living Dragons in the world. The people of the Lou Islands (Wufeis home country) worship these dragons as rulers of the heavens and were said to have been taught magic by the Dragons. May has been in Eduards company since before he was a Captain and reportedly stays with him only because she is concerned with what damage might ensue if she were not there to keep him in check.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Weather & Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island**

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

**Chapter Five**

"According to the researchers the 'Wild Star' they saw fell relatively close and to the southwest of here. That means that it could have fallen onto Dimond Crest. It's a fairly good sized island but it's pretty rocky. Most of the islanders raise a large type of rock goat called a Sichin. They use them for meat, mill, and as beasts of burden. I've never been to Dimond Crest but I haven't ever heard anything bad about it."

Trowa had rolled one of his many maps out on the Galley table and Herro was tracing the route they planned to take with his index finger. Ocerr was one of a pair of very small islands off the cost of Dimond Crest. It would only take two good days of sailing to reach the larger island from their current position but unlike Ocerr, which had deep water nearly all the way up to the beach, Dimond Crest had a very shallow buffer that surrounded nearly the entire land mass. They would have to drop anchor nearly half a mile off the coast and row to shore in a longboat.

"I don' like it. We can na make a quick get-way!" Duo said from his seat at the end of the table, one black cat on his shoulder and the other under his chin.

"If you are not going to speak properly then do not speak at all." Wufei snapped

"Quick getaways shouldn't be necessary." Trowa said mater-of-factly, ignoring Wufie's outburst.

"Quatre, what does the weather look like?"

The lunar guardian, who was leaning over the map and inspecting it looked up at his Captain and nodded before closing his eyes for a moment. After nearly a week of sleep the young Lunar Guardian was much improved. He had regained most of his energy but Heero had noticed that , much like his sister, Quarter was prone to giving Tallgeese a wide birth.

"As long as we don' go Norrr-th we be good for sail." Quatre said after a few moments of concentration.

Heero nodded then turned his head to point a questioning look at Tallgeese. The blond man was standing between Duo and Trowa with a bored look on his face.

"Tallgeese, can you confirm that one of the stones is on this island if we get close enough?"

"I will know and I will tell." Said the snake. "We must be within a mans measurement of a mile to sense the presence of the stones."

"I see. Regardless of whether or not it is on the island we will not know for sure till we actually search it on foot." Wufei pondered out loud.

"If it has fallen close to the water the presence will be stronger and if it dry than the presence will be weaker." Tallgeese replied first with a hopeful expression before shifting to one of irritation.

"That may actually be helpful! What if one of the stones is completely submerged in water?" Trowa questioned with a piqued intrest.

"Then we will sense it at ten times the distance." Tallgeese replied with a stiff nod.

"Khisss…" hissed Quatre under his breath which earned him a sharp glare from the snake which he returned in kind while the fur on his arms bristled defensively.

"Quatre." Heero warned in a quiet voice

The Lunar Guardian drew his eyes away and looked at the table. Heero went back to his briefing. He explained that they would drop anchor after sailing once around the island. On the off chance that the stone was on Dimond Crest and it was near the shore than it would give them a better idea of where to search. There was a cove on the southeast edge of the island that would allow them to leave the ship in without having to worry about it being too far out but wouldn't cause them to run-aground either.

They would split into teams to search for the gem: Heero and Quatre, Trowa with Duo, and Tallgeese would partner with Wufei. Ira would, of course, be in charge of watching the ship and she could send a message on the wind to Quatre if need be. Each team would search a third of the island. In the case of land mass it was actually smaller than Daphar so with any luck they would find it within the first day of searching. If they were lucky that is.

Heero announced that they would set off from Ocerr with the tide the next morning. He encouraged his crew to take a few hours to relax before dinner and as he moved to exit the Galley while Trowa gathered up his map and notes Heero stopped in the doorway and turned back to lock eyes with Tallgeese.

"If you go ashore you must take someone with you. " He said to the snake who looked indignantly at the Captain of the Wing but nodded none the less.

* * *

><p>After a dinner that, to Quatres delight, included a large assortment of fresh fruits most of the members of the Wings crew broke away to finish odd tasks before their departure the next morning. Tallgeese, who had no such duties so far as they were aware, went up on deck.<p>

The evening was cool as the breeze swept across the oceans surface. They stood on the aft of the ship and looked out over the water. The long blond hair of their human form waved a little with the wind and their long bangs swept the bridge of their nose. They did not seem to notice anything else around their person but instead their focus was locked on the dark horizon where the water met the sky.

The light thud of Quatre dropping from the air to the deck caused them jerk their head around to face the unexpected interruption with a hiss. Quatre trilled sharply back. They stood and glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Quatre broke the silence.

"I no like you. No trrr-us you." He said in an uncharacteristically deadpan tone

The long haired blond regarded the Lunar Guardian. His slender and well muscled figure was framed by his huge white feathered wings and the short orange and black fur on his fore-arms tapered off at his elbows. Short cropped, sun colored, hair hung just below his brow to curtain the pupil-less sea blue eyes that all Lunar Guardians inherited. The tale tell tail of the dolphin had been replaced by a pair of slender human legs to match his torso. He was a fine, abet young, specimen of his kind. Still, he was not so impressive that either Millardo or Zechs were at all intimidated by his presence.

"We care not of your dislike for us and less that we do not have your trust. Flightily lunar brat, we are not here to be your babysitter."

"Why you come? Why Majka send you?"

Zechs hissed and snapped, causing them to sift back into their natural state. The twelve foot, white, sea serpent rose up and while Zechs head looked ready to strike Milliardo looked thoughtful if not a little depressed. In truth neither brother wanted to be here: Zechs due to his distaste for most humans and the greater majority of the sentient magical creatures while Milliardo simply wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict. He had no particular reason to dislike anyone but was compelled to obey his mother and could not (for obvious reasons) leave his ill-tempered brother behind.

"Would you be able to find mothers gems without us?" Zechs hissed

"Brother be calm, the moon-child had every right to be suspicious."

"Do not you start in as well!"

"Listen moon-child, we have come only be assist you in retrieving our mothers' gems as fast as possible. We know their shape and their feel but we were also once their guardians."

Quatre took a step back and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Silence brother! Enough!" Zechs struck at his brother head with a loud snap. Milliardo sighed heavily and turned away with his head hung in disappointment.

"Go now fowl winged wind-beast, before my fangs find you." Zechs growled before turning away as well and shifting back into their human guise. Quatre nodded and with a heavy beat of his wings he propelled himself upward and in to a smooth movement arched back to land on the lower deck near the entrance to the stairs. He disappeared below deck and left the two brothers to brood in the cool breeze.

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><p>There weren't any more altercations between Quatre and Tallgeese during the trip to and around Dimond Crest. Quatre had not told anyone about the confrontation between the snake and himself. He did, however, stop making such a show of avoiding the sea snake, much to Heeros' inner relief. Their lap around the island didn't yield any new information so the Wing dropped anchor where they had originally planned. They rowed to shore in a longboat; each carrying enough water and emergency food to last two days inside their packs.<p>

They were greeted at the shore with a round of friendly "Hello"s from the natives who waved to them. Heero introduced himself to the elderly man who approached them first. The man turned out to be the village elder and he welcomed them and also warned them about so rather strange happenings near the center of the island. Their herds of Sichin had been especially nervous the last several weeks. Heero explained that they were on Dimond Crest for precisely that reason and he wondered if anyone could tell them about anything strange they'd seen. While the elder went to call the villagers together in the small square Trowa pulled out his notes and charcoal sticks so that he could take down anything that seemed relevant.

Duo who had been joined by both Shin and Scythe sat on the ground with Wufei, Quatre and several carouse village children and kept them entertained with stories of his wonderful, abet embellished, adventures. Wufei would occasionally interject during Duo's stories to set the record straight much to Duo's mock distain. This back and forth banter would only make the children laugh louder.

Tallgeese stood stoicly behind Trowa as the adults and older teens relayed their recent experiences. Several villagers had see something bright make landfall on the island but couldn't say exactly where it fell. One man had his whole herd of Sichin spook and stampede in the northern most central grazing lands of the island while another said he had seen an eerie glow over a rise to the north of the village while returning home late from setting snares one evening. As Heero asked more questions it became apparent that the northern half of the island would be a good place to start looking. If they came up empty handed then they would search the southern half.

With the blessing of the villagers, who were eager for their island to return to normal, the Wings crew set out to search the island. The elder had lent them three of the calmest Sichin they had as pack animals, one for each team. Heero and Quatre would search the western coast area, heading north. Wufei and Tallgeese would take a route through the center of the island heading north while Duo and Trowa took the east coast heading north. This would give good coverage of the whole island and since Tallgeese would be towards the center he was more likely to be able to sense Majkas jem even if it wasn't in his sector. Wufei had devised several small rockets that would whistle up into the air and shower green sparks like a small firework if any team were to find the jem so that the other groups could make their way towards each other.

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><p>Once Heero and Quatre were well and truly out of site of the village the Lunar Guardian stretched out his wings. The bigger they got the harder it was to keep them concealed, whether with magic or a cloak. Heero led their Sichin, a copper colored beast called Ookula, with a long braded lead of a material that felt like wool but was more than likely Sichin hair. After about an hour of hiking and bolder diving along in a zig-zag pattern he led Ookula up to a flat area to rest for a moment. Quatre could bypass the rocky terrain due to is ability to fly so he was criss-crossing over Heeros track to make sure they truly left no stone unturned.<p>

"Quatre, take a break." Heero said, letting his voice echo down to his young partner where he fluttered near the edge of a twenty foot drop. He glided over and landed near his Captain with a grin.

"I no find. We keep looking?"

"Yes, give Ookula a minute to rest."

Quatre nodded and leaned over to scratch the large goat-like creature behind the ear. It made a warbling sound of contentment and leaned into the scratch.

"Are you doing all right?" Heero asked where he leaned against a boulder.

"Yes, wing be no hur'. I fine." Quatre replied easily

"No, I mean on the ship. You've been strange since we left Majkas island."

Quatre stopped scratching Ookula, much to the beast displeasure, and looked down and away. He seemed contemplative and then disheartened. After a few minutes of silence he peeked at Heero from under his bangs the way a child might sheepishly look at its father when caught in a fib.

"I no like snakes."

"I can tell, your sister doesn't seem to care much for him either. Care to elaborate?"

"No know abou' Ira. I find 'eh sneaky. Hide some 'ing. I know!"

"From my understanding their mother forced them to come with us. What could they be hiding that's of any importance?"

"I ask, 'eh no 'ell. Snappy one and calm one argue no 'ell me. I keep ask. Calm one say some'ing queer. He say 'eh be guardians of jems afor go missing."

"Hn."

Heero pondered this new information. It would certainly explain why the Tallgeese had to come with them. If their mother forced them to come because they were partly responsible for the disappearance it might explain why they might be rather sore about being made to assist humans to retrieve them. It also meant that at least one of the heads felt this loss was a blow to his pride. The more they could find out about the disappearance, no matter how touchy the subject, might help them find the stones faster. He would try to get the two headed serpent alone at some point when they had a moment's peace.

"Try not to let it bother you. If it's worth knowing it will be found out eventually." He reassured Quatre as he got back to his feet, signaling the re-instatement of their hike.

Quatre nodded in after processing what Heero said. The young Lunar Guardian took again to the sky and returned to the drop off he had been searching when Heero had called for the break. They kept on their clime for several more hours before they stopped to break again. Heero found that he was grateful for Ookula several times during their climb through the rocky terrain.

Most noteworthy of these was the occasion in which he lost his footing and slipped backwards down a slope. Ookula held his ground and stiffened his neck instead of letting Heeros weight pull him around to follow the man down the slope. The beast then proceeded to climb further and pull Heero back to solid footing. Quatre arrived a moment later and fussed over Heero with a series of chirps and thrills until the shipwright finally convinced him that save for a few scratches here and there he was fine.

It was just starting to get dusky when Heero and Quatre decided to make camp for the night. The harshness of the hike had begun to take its toll on Heero. The search, though covering a smaller amount of ground than one would think, had been far more tedious than Heero had originally accounted for. They had covered a little over half of the ground they were allotted but he granted himself the handicap that they had the furthest starting point from the village. Quatre was even beginning to tire by the time they found a good sized meadow coved in the island rough but nutritious grasses.

Heero had just given Ookula a chance to drink while Quatre started a small fire when the high pitched whistling and green shimmers of the signal flare rose over the island.

**:: Interesting Fact ::**

Quatre was dropped on Lunar Port by one of his many sisters when she was fleeing the Hermit of Daphar. He wandered alone for quite a while on his own before finding his way onto Heeros' ship. He was following the smell of ripe oranges, which are his favorite fruit.

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	6. Chapter 6

Weather & Haul Wind: Wind of the Mystic Island

AU Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction by White Wings

Rated for language and violence

Chapter Six

**(THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-WRITEN AS OF SEPT. 25th 2014 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!)**

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><p>Wufei sat on a wide flat rock; his chin in his hand. After a long day of dragging himself and his Sichin over rocks and through thick brush in pursuit of Tallgeese, who had set off at an almost dangerous pace, he was sore and tired. The snake man... men had perked up as dusk fell and set off even faster. When he had finally caught up to them it became obvious as to why. In a small crater a few meters away lay a brightly glowing stone. It was obviously one of the gems that Majka had sent them after but Tallgeese would not let him get any closer to it so that it could be retrieved. Instead the snakes had insisted on setting off the fireworks first. So now they waited for the other members of The Wings crew to arrive and the tall blond stood staring single-mindedly at the shining stone.<p>

The clatter of loose slate stones heralded the arrival of Heero and Quatre from the West. Wufei stood and watched them make their slow progress over the uneven and rocky terrain by torchlight. Quatre saw him first and with a few beats of his wings was airborne and then gently touching down on the flat rock next to him.

"Fei!" he chirped happily before turning his attention to Tallgeese and the stone. The Lunar Guardian crouched down on his heels and squinted at the stone as Heero urged his Sichin over the last large obstical.

"Heero." Wufei nodded as he approached and took the pack beasts lead to allowing Heero to slide down the last foot or so of the decline on which he stood.

"Why is he standing there like that?" Heero asked as Wufei tied the lead to the same rock his own Sichin was tethered too.

"I don't know. He we had to wait for everyone to be here before we retrieved it. Neither of us has been any closer than this to the gem."

"Hn..."

A loud "Ahoy!" from the East side of the crater announced Duo's arrival and by proxy the much quieter Trowa. Wufei watched as the last for their crewmates made their way down to the small crater. Despite Duo's bright babbling it was obvious that he was tired. His manner simply lacked the energy that it normally extruded but that didn't mean he was any quieter. Wufei winced as the talkative brunet drew closer with his Sichin in toe.

"Ehy Wu-man! Can 'ah tie up me beasty whi' yers?" Duo beamed

Trowa came to stand next to Tallgeese, giving the glowing stone a wide birth. Wufei brushed off Duo with a dismissive wave of his hand and moved back to where Quatre squatted. Heero stood with his arms crossed looking contemplative. He acknowledged Duo as the brunet skipped over from where he'd tied his Sichin and proceeded to hang himself of the shorter mans shoulder. Leaning out and using Heero like an anchor to keep from falling over.

"Kay, so why aint we nabbed 'he shinny yet, eh?" Duo asked

"Tallgeese?" Heero prodded of the blond mans attention.

The snakes turned away from the stone, the faint glow edging their silhouette with a cool light. Trowa turned away from the stone as well and took a few steps towards the rest of the crew.

"The gem is Scarlet. I cannot wake it and I dare not touch it." The snakes said with a slight hiss of annoyance.

"I dunno, 'ook awfully blue ta me." Duo said, squinting.

Heero gave Tallgeese a look that Wufei couldn't read but the blond must have had in inclination as to what it meant, or at least one of them did.

"The gems are each one of a different shade. I am not well liked by Scarlet and I am only tolerated so one of you must take it. It lies in a dormant state. One of you must wake it but I warn and I caution that you take care. Scarlet may not be cordial when roused from its sleep."

"Wait, so the reason we had to wait for everyone else is because you did not want to pick it up?" Wufei said "Why did you not just say so." He tread forward with an exasperated huff, brushing past the startled snakes and reaching down to grasp the glowing orb. It was slightly warm to the touch; a pleasant warmth that reminded him of a spring sun. He straitened and turned around with the gem in hand. Tallgeese had a look of shocked horror across their face.

"It is only a gem, why should this be so..." Wufei was cut short by a bright flash of light and a sudden flair of heat.

The sudden burst of light cause all of The Wings crew to shield their eyes. Heero heard Tallgeese yell a warning but he still saw spots even though he had shaded his eyes with his forearm.

"WHAT IN ALL THE SEVEN HELLS WAS THAT!" Duo cried out, losing his practiced accent in his shock.

Heero blinked away the spots that blurred his vision. He could see the rest of his crew doing the same. Quatre was rubbing his eyes and Duo was digging the ball of his palms into his own. Trowa blinked dumbly up at the sky but Tallgeese was a flurry of movement.

"Stupid dragon!" They yelled as they made for Wufei

Heero had regained enough of his sight to watch as a numb Wufei, still clutching the now bright red gem, went from standing ridged to buckling limply into an unconscious heap.

His feet were moving him forward and he felt the sharp pang of panic rise in this throat. He lost his own composure then and shouted.

"WUFEI!"

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><p>He was hot, his whole body felt like it was on fire and he thrashed from side to side in a desperate attempt to shake off the burning sensation. Then, all of the sudden, the burning stopped and he blinked for find he was leaning heavenly against the ruff bark of a tree. He pushed himself off and fell to his forward onto his hands only to find them covered in scales. His mouth agape with shock he whipped his head around to find that the rest of his body too had changed. Down his back grew a thick mane of silver hair, it continued and flagged into a long scaled tail that twisted down from his haunches. The white scales that covered his body turning red in a nearly perfect circle just above his hips.<p>

His legs gave out beneath him and he sat not knowing what to do and he sat like that for he knew not how long. When he was finally able to swim up out of his stupor he resigned himself to his fate as a monster. He then began to take in his surrounding.

The clearing in which he sat was surrounded on three sides by a red dirt cliff that was overgrown with thick underbrush. A waterfall trickled down where several large rocks had fallen into the shallow box canyon then seeped away into the trees that stood sentry at the exit. The top of the cliff, too, was adorned with tree trunks and canopies of varying shades of green but he could see the blue sky above the leaves. Lazy while clouds drifted slowly by since clouds, of course, are never in a hurry to get anywhere.

He stood as a flew down the cliff to crack a snail on one of the larger rocks that dotted the bank of the thin creek. Curious to see what the rest of this place was like he turned toward the trees and managed to trip and stumble over his own legs... hands... talons? Whatever they were and he swore with an exasperated huff that if Maxwell ever saw this he would never let him live it down. Whoever Maxwell was.

The shade of the trees was refreshing in a way he had not been expecting. The way the sunlight danced in little splotches on the soft ground was cheery and bright. As he became accustom to his limbs and the way his long body seemed to wrap around the trunks of trees he passed he began to enjoy himself more and more. He picked up the pace and totted about the wood as if it were his own. He could not remember having felt this free in a long time. When he finally realized that it was beginning to get dark he slowed and wondered if he should head back for the quiet clearing in the shallow box canyon and then panicked when he realized he wasn't sure how to get back to it.

He began to pace nervously, losing his composure and sense of direction at the same time. He walked into a tree trunk and somehow managed to snap himself back to his senses as well as snap the trunk of the tree. He sighed as he watched it topple over, taking another smaller tree with it as it fell.

He decided that since he had been traveling down a slight slope most of the day that if he headed up that slope he might recognize something as a landmark to guide him back. He struck out up hill, crunching through the soft leaf litter with purpose.

A shrill cry stopped him sort in his tracks. His head snapped up and he could feel his body tensing as he listened for the sound to repeat. The eery silence only made him that much more tense. Again a sharp cry sounded and before he was even sure of himself he was moving. Faster than the trot he'd gotten used to he was practically flying over the forest floor. Launching himself off of thick tree trunks to pick up speed and spraying dark dirt and fallen leaves in every direction when he pushed off from the ground. When he heard the cry again he was so much closer to it source that it startled him. He could hear the muffled sound of footfalls and the sobbing breaths of a so much smaller creature as it ran. The heavy, bestial breaths of something huge following close behind, slowed only by its sized and the tree in its way as it pounded up the slope after its prey.

He stopped short as he came to a drop where water had eroded away a portion of the tree covered slope and fallen trees hand crated a natural fence to some unsuspecting creature from falling to its own potential harm. He could hear the sobs of the prey and scramble to the top of the fallen trees to see a little girl, no more than ten summers, with hair the color of fire stumbling and clawing her way up the slop the the dead end that was the bottom of the drop. Behind her came the bear.

It was huge, its beady black eyes narrowed in concentration as it climbed up the slope. He saw the fear and felt each of the little girls pitiful sobs as it racked her body. He knew it would take only one swing of the bears huge paw to silence her and for that he felt his own fear.

He remembered crying, a heartbreaking sound that froze him where he stood at the top of the drop. He remembered her cold body, torn and lifeless. All the self loathing that followed in the wake of his failure. She was gone forever and he had not been there to protect her. He would not see her smile again or hear her ringing laugh. He felt the heat rising in him again. From the base of his tail the warmth traveled as if it were a river breaking free of the dam.

The little red haired girl it the wall at the base of the drop and whirled to see the bear as it rose up. He launched himself at he bear, connecting with all his weight and sending them both rolling head over foot down the slope. The copper-like taste of blood staining his tongue as his jaw clamped down of the bears shoulder. The bear squealed and trashed, throwing him over and pounding him with its heavy paws as he skid into the base of a tree. With as much strength as he could muster he swung his hip and tail round and used the momentum to not only warp the bears hind legs with is tail but fling his body at its throat.

The bear threw all its weight into its forepaws as it lashed out at him and he sunk his teeth first into its ear and then into its snout. He clamped his talons into it shoulders and let the heat and fire within him out all at once. His throat bulged and his jaw unhinged as the fire spewed forth, enveloping the bears head within the flames. It bellowed out in shock and pain and rolled to the ground as the flames engulfed the rest of its hide, burning bone as well as flesh and hair until there was nothing left but a hissing carcass lying charred on the forest floor.

He stood over his triumph; breathing heavily and feeling sick to his stomach from the smell of burning hair. The hiccuping sob if the little girl brought his attention back to her. She was curled into a tight ball at the base of the drop, covering her head with her tiny, shaking, hands. He stepped towards her but as he came near she flinched and began to cry louder. He hung his head.

He crouched low, crawling on his belly until his nose was only inches from her little body. He murmured a "Shhhh" and an "It is all right now." but all that came out was a soft hiss and a whuuring sound like that of a cat with a confused purr. Despite his disappointment with his sudden lack of language, for he was sure he'd been able to talk just yesterday, his point and intention seemed to have come across in some way.

The little girl peeked out at him though locks of tangled red hair. Slowly, ever slowly, she reached out for him and touch his nose and then his mane with timid fingers. He nudged her hand and sighed and all at once she sprang for him, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and sobbing into him. He "whuur-ed" again to comfort her and slowly warped his body around her to protect her from the darkness. She was warm and wet... and loud but he let her sob into his neck until she fell asleep and then, in the sheltered darkness of the canopy he too dozed off.

He could hear in the distance people calling out, hear the panic in their voices as they searched but they didn't have to worry. She was safe, he as with her. He would protect her until they came and keep her warm too.

* * *

><p>"You son of a bitch, I swear if you don't wake up I'll haunt you forever. Do you hear me Wufei! I'LL haunt YOU!"<p>

"Why is your grammar so good when you are cursing?" Wufei whispered hoarsely

The sharp pain of fist meeting cheekbone jerked Wufei into a sitting position. "OW!"

He rubbed his cheek and glared at Duo who had pointedly turned away from him where they sat in the dirt.

"Serves ya right ya great wan'dren indjet!" Duo huffed

"Fei!" Chirped Quatre as he dropped out of the sky onto Wufei's chest. The Lunar Guardian took Wufei's head in his hands and looked him dead in the eyes. The slowly brightening horizon and the light of a camp fire near by giving Wufei just enough light to see the worried look that the teen-like creature was giving him.

"Off." He stated quite flatly and with that Quatre seemed satisfied. He climbed off of him and crouched next to him on the opposite side from Duo

"Here." Trowa, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, handed him a tin cup of hot tea. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired. What happened?" Wufei asked, taking the warm cup with one hand and then realizing that he still clutched the Scarlet gem in the other. He laid the gem in his lap and wrapped both hands around the cup.

"You were taken by the Scarlet gem. I did warn you and I did advise caution, it is not our fault that you are an idiot." Tallgeese and Heero walked into view from behind him. He could see his Captain was more than a little irritated. His normally fluid movement was slightly stiff.

"What do you mean I was taken?" Wufei said after a sip of tea

"Snatched yer soul an' all 'hat hoo-do!" Duo said making wiggling movements which his fingers over his shoulder at Wufei, he was refusing to turn around and look a Wufei dead on but it would probably kill him not be part of an active conversation.

"How could a stone snatch a soul?" Wufei said, picking up the Scarlet gem once again and turning it over in his palm. He saw a flash of a girl with fiery hair but shook it off.

"You're the mage you tell me." Heero said with a shrug. "This is apparently something we'll have to get used to since it's likely to happen again with the other gems."

"Oh no! Ye ain't maken me! Not no shinny 'ut thar 's worth me soul!" Duo said shaking his head vigorously causing his braid to whip back and forth.

"So what do we do with this now that we have it?" Wufei asked still holding the red gem, it glimmered slightly in the early morning light. Tallgeese reached down and took the gem from Wufei.

"We will keep it. I will make sure it is safe and I will make sure it doesn't escape." And with that the tall blond placed the fist sized gem in their mouth and swallowed the Scarlet gem whole. There was a shocked silence for a few seconds as the whole crew watched the neck of the man bulge and constrict like a snake.

"eeeeEEEEWWWWW!" whaled Duo as he skittered away in mock terror. Wufei let out a short bark of laughter and soon the other members of the crew joined him. Only Tallgesse looked irritated and confused.

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><p>:: Interesting Fact ::<p>

The people of the Lou Island Dragon Clans, like Wufei, are often born mages. It's said that long ago a dragon took human form when he fell in love with a girl from the island. Their children and their children's children have since inherited the power of their dragon ancestor. There is actually evidence that several such occurrences took place and since it is impossible to tell a dragon from a normal person when they are concealed as such it is possible that there are currently couples like this on or around the islands.

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